Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 439

[College Entrance Exam Over! Exam Papers and Answers Revealed!]

[The Morning of the College Entrance Exam Day!]

[Actor Lee Seo-jun Appears on Morning News!]

[Lee Seo-jun’s Scarf Sold Out!]

[Lee Seo-jun’s Coat Sold Out!]

-I turned on the TV in the morning and saw Lee Seo-jun (actor, examinee) on it.

=22 I was frozen in shock.

=333 I’ve seen actor Lee Seo-jun a lot in film festivals or airport videos, but this is the first time I’ve seen student Lee Seo-jun. He’s so cute

=444 He must have not worn any makeup since he was taking the exam, but he’s still so handsome.

-It’s amazing how he looks so innocent compared to his acting videos.

=22 That gap is really cool. He’s a genius actor.

-I wonder how it feels to see him in person. I’m jealous.

=My friend (examinee) went to the test site early to get used to it and saw Lee Seo-jun. She even took a picture with him.

= I’m a 7-year-old fan. I commute near that school, you know? They told me to come to work late because of the exam, so I was so happy But I didn’t expect Lee Seo-jun to be there… If I had come to work on time today, I would have seen him… I can’t help but laugh

=Who would have thought that coming to work late would make me miss such a chance;;;

-The news today was hilarious They all quickly made comments and switched to live broadcast

=But I understand. I also turned on the news then.

=SNS suddenly said that Lee Seo-jun was on the news, so I wondered what happened.

=I hurriedly looked for the remote control

=I was washing my hair and came out to see Lee Seo-jun entering the school and then went back to wash again My eyes and back hurt so much

=Why did your back hurt?

=My mom slapped me on the back

-They only had one reporter, right? It was funny how every channel showed the same video

=It’s better than holding up three students and interviewing them separately.

-I want that scarf…!

=And the coat too. It wouldn’t fit me like that, but…

=The bag just sold out!

=The shoes are still available! (link)

=What;;; How did you find out about the shoes? They were only briefly and barely shown when he entered the school.

***

The [436] team, who had finished the big event of the college entrance exam, started preparing for their graduation performance in earnest. 

Of course, except for the seniors who had other schedules such as practical tests or interviews after the exam.

“I don’t know if they practiced well while we were preparing for the exam.”

Kim Joo-kyung said, and Han Ji-ho nodded and replied.

“The music team was practicing without the seniors, and the art team was making what they could with only freshmen and sophomores.”

“But we…”

The acting team had lost all of their seniors who were the core members.

The seniors sighed lightly.

“I heard some rumors, but… It must have been hard for them with just two grades.”

Kang Jae-han smiled softly and opened the door of the first practice room. Freshman Kim Young-chan and sophomore Park Yeon-ji, who had arrived earlier, greeted Lee Seo-jun and his friends with bright smiles.

“Sorry. We couldn’t come often because of the exam preparation. You couldn’t practice well, right?”

Kang Jae-han, who had to match his timing with Kim Young-chan and Park Yeon-ji, apologized with a sorry expression. 

Kim Young-chan and Park Yeon-ji widened their eyes at their senior’s apology and quickly shook their heads.

“Exam! The exam is more important!”

“Right! We have less lines, so we’re fine!”

“Besides, Lee Seo-jun senior came every day!”

Huh?

At Park Yeon-ji’s words, the seniors widened their eyes and looked at Seo-jun. 

Seo-jun, who was looking at his phone, felt their gazes and turned his head.

“You came every day?”

“Huh? Ah. Yeah. Just for 30 minutes after school.”

“There were times when it was more than an hour!”

‘That’s because…’

He enjoyed acting practice more than studying.

Seo-jun scratched his cheek as the seniors admired him.

“You didn’t just come to the acting team, right? You also stopped by the music team and the art team, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

Seo-jun nodded at Kim Joo-kyung’s words.

He created the [436] team, so it was natural for him to check on the other teams who were working without the seniors.

“How did you get perfect scores on Korean and English even after doing all that…”

Han Ji-ho exclaimed in admiration. Kim Young-chan and Park Yeon-ji opened their mouths wide.

“Perfect scores?!”

“It’s just an estimate, but yeah.”

Wow.

The juniors looked at Seo-jun with admiration even though he was modestly speaking.

We don’t know what our senior can’t do.

Seeing their expressions, Seo-jun scratched the back of his neck and spoke.

“Then I’ll go check on the music team and the art team.”

“Okay. We’ll be practicing here.”

Kim Joo-kyung nodded. Kang Jae-han smiled gently at the juniors and said.

“You’ll be able to catch up quickly if you learned from Seo-jun.”

“Right. It’s almost like a one-on-one lesson, right? I wonder how good you are.”

Han Ji-ho teased them with a playful tone, and the juniors’ eyes trembled.

They felt nervous at the thought of acting in front of their seniors.

Leaving behind his friends who were looking forward to the juniors’ acting and the juniors who were feeling tense, Seo-jun left the first practice room. And he lowered his eyes to his phone.

[Art Team]

-Isol: I sketched out two backgrounds. Which one is better? 1 or 2?

-Isol: (Picture 1)

-Isol: (Picture 2)

<2 looks good.

<But I think it would be nice to add this design from 1 too…

-Isol:

[Music Team]

-Kim Chae-yeon: How about this tempo?

-Kim Chae-yeon: (Playing file)

<I think it would be better to go slower.

<With a warm and peaceful feeling.

-Kim Chae-yeon: Got it!

Seo-jun looked over the messages that had come from the art team and the music team while he was away. 

He decided to stop by the art team first.

“Hello! Senior!”

The art team was in charge of the background, props, and costumes for the play [436], but for efficiency, they were divided into two teams: background & props team and costume team.

Park Min-hyung, who was a freshman but recognized for his skills and became the leader of the costume team, greeted Seo-jun who entered the art room assigned to the [436] team. 

The members of the costume team also briefly widened their eyes and then welcomed Seo-jun with bright smiles.

Seo-jun smiled at the sight of the juniors.

‘I remember they were all so surprised at first…’

Thanks to Seo-jun’s frequent visits to the art team, they seemed quite familiar with him now.

“Hi, guys. Do you know where the art team leader is?”

“The team leader is in the next room.”

Seo-jun widened his eyes, and the members of the costume team laughed casually.

“He said he would borrow another classroom, and he really did?”

The art room was too small for them, so he said he would borrow another one, and it seemed like he really did.

“Yes. He said that since it’s Seo-jun senior’s play, not only the official performance but also people from other countries would watch it… He and the other seniors are making it with great care.”

It sounded like they were going to make some amazing backgrounds and props.

While the seniors were preparing for the exam, the freshmen and sophomores were making small props or furniture that wouldn’t show much, or supports for the backgrounds that would only be seen behind the stage. But now that the seniors had joined, they seemed to be working on it seriously.

Seo-jun nodded and was about to walk to the next room when Park Min-hyung called him.

“Oh, senior.”

“Hmm?”

“Can I go measure your clothes later?”

“If it’s about the size of the costumes, I can tell you now.”

Seo-jun answered, and Park Min-hyung quickly shook his head.

“That’s not it… I need measurements for each body part.”

“Why?”

Seo-jun tilted his head, and Park Min-hyung chuckled and answered.

“Costumes… We’re going to try making them ourselves.”

“Make them yourselves?”

Seo-jun looked surprised, and the members of the costume team laughed out loud. They felt proud to surprise a superstar.

“Yes! I can use a sewing machine. If the others help me, we can make them in time. For the other roles too!”

“Min-hyung is really good at making them! Senior!”

At Park Min-hyung and the juniors’ words, Seo-jun thought for a moment.

‘It would be more meaningful and nice to make the costumes themselves, but…’

He was worried if the costume team could do it well.

He looked at the juniors who were waiting for his answer without blinking and opened his mouth.

“Hmm. As long as you promise to contact me right away if you can’t make it in time.”

“Don’t worry! We’ll also prepare ready-made ones in case we can’t make them! From a site that delivers a day before!”

If they were prepared that much…

Seo-jun smiled brightly and nodded.

“Okay. Let me know when you’re ready.”

The costume team cheered at Seo-jun’s approval.

He left the art room with a smile and headed to the next room. 

There were large props in the classroom, which was definitely bigger than the next art room.

Art team leader Isol and the senior art students were busy working with sparkling eyes. 

They looked dead when he met them before the exam, but now they were full of energy.

They seemed to be happiest when they were doing what they loved.

“Can this go out of the door?”

“Don’t worry. We’re doing everything with calculations.”

Isol shrugged his shoulders and showed Seo-jun the background he was working on. Seo-jun examined it carefully.

“This material has changed?”

“Min-hyung said that if we put this set on the left side of the stage, it would reflect too much because of the lights. I checked it out and it was true. So I changed it to something less reflective.”

“Minhyung?”

Seo-jun recalled Park Minhyung, the freshman from the art department he had just met.

“He’s amazing, you know? We in the art department don’t know much about Mirhol because we’ve never put up any artwork there. But he knows everything from the lighting to how the stage looks from the audience seats. That’s why he’s on the costume team, but he’s also helping with the background and props.”

“Really?”

Isol nodded at Seo-jun’s surprised expression.

“I sent you a revised version of the stage props placement, remember?”

“Yeah. You did. It looked better that way.”

“That was Minhyung’s suggestion.”

Oh.

Seo-jun exclaimed without realizing it.

“He did theater with you in middle school, right? Was he like that back then?”

“Well…”

Seo-jun tried to remember at Isol’s words.

Back then, Park Minhyung was in charge of costumes and suggested a white-gray-black color scheme for ‘Kim Jinwoo’s’ outfit.

“His costume idea was good, but not this good…”

Isol nodded at Seo-jun’s words.

“Then maybe his talent blossomed recently. Anyway, he’s really good. Does he want to go into stage direction?”

At Isol’s words, the other art team members started talking about Park Minhyung.

“I don’t think so. He seems interested in costumes too, right? He could sell the clothes he made.”

“Have you seen his drawings? The teachers praised him a lot. He should go into drawing!”

Seo-jun blinked at the reactions of the art department kids.

The junior who had made the play [Mirror] with him three years ago had become an incredible talent.

***

After leaving the art room, Seo-jun headed to the music room where the music team was.

The music team was preparing the background music and sound effects for the play.

When choosing the background music, Seo-jun and the music team discussed and decided after listening to the music Seo-jun had in mind and the music recommended by the music team who had read the script. 

When choosing the sound effects, Seo-jun picked the most suitable one among the various versions recorded by the music team.

Kim Chaeyeon, the leader of the music team, played the recordings they had made so far for Seo-jun.

“This one could be a bit louder, don’t you think?”

“Yeah? Okay.”

Kim Chaeyeon nodded and made a note at Seo-jun’s opinion.

“It’s easier since it’s our second time.”

“Yeah.”

It was easier to exchange opinions since they had made a play together three years ago, even though it was only once.

“But am I in charge of lighting again?”

Seo-jun laughed at Kim Chaeyeon’s words.

“I don’t know. I’ll see how it goes during rehearsal.”

He had to find someone who could adjust the lighting according to the timing without being distracted by the actors’ performance. 

The lighting was important for this play, so he wanted to be careful about choosing.

‘Maybe I’ll have to ask Chaeyeon again.’

Bang!

Then Kim Chaeyeon’s phone rang.

She looked at the message that arrived and her eyes widened.

“Seo-jun! Is this for real?”

“Huh?”

As Seo-jun blinked, Kim Chaeyeon showed him her phone screen with an excited face.

-Hey hey hey!

-We have a special lecture next week on Bubble!

-Brown Black!

“Ah.”

Seo-jun nodded at the familiar name.

“I heard they might come…”

It seemed like they were really coming.

“It’s true!”

Kim Chaeyeon smiled brightly and said she had to brag to her mom right away. Seo-jun chuckled at her reaction.

“But Chaeyeon, you’re majoring in piano, right? Classical.”

He didn’t think there was any reason for a classical major to like a special lecture by a pop singer like Brown Black, unless they were aspiring idols or pursuing a career in pop music.

At Seo-jun’s words, Kim Chaeyeon shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, there are some people who clearly separate classical and pop music… But you never know what life will bring you. It might help later if you listen to stories from different fields. Besides, these days there are a lot of crossovers between classical and pop music.”

“That’s true.”

There were cases where small orchestras performed on singers’ stages or classical music was incorporated into pop songs.

“And… my mom is a fan of Brown Black, so I went to see their stage with her before. I understood why people wanted to see Brown Black live. They sing really well! I became a fan after seeing that. I wanted to go to their concert too, but I couldn’t get a ticket. It was a war zone, a war zone! And now I get to see them up close!”

Seo-jun smiled at Kim Chaeyeon’s enthusiastic words.